Hud Is Doing Its Part To Improve Energy Efficiency

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July 21, 2001|By Mel Martinez, Special to the sentinel

For all the complexity of the current energy crisis, for most Americans it's not that complicated.

They feel its effect in their cars, their homes or both. While President George W. Bush's energy policy is broad-ranging and comprehensive, as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, I am especially interested in what it will do for families struggling to conserve energy and lower utility costs in their homes.

After two decades of steady decline, the energy bill for an average family has skyrocketed by 25 percent since 1998.

Improving the energy efficiency of the nation's housing stock is an important part of the president's plan. Americans now spend an astronomical $131 billion each year on household energy costs. As the single largest housing expense after mortgage payments, the rapid escalation of energy costs is directly affecting housing affordability for both renters and homeowners -- not just in California, but throughout the nation.

The impact on low-income households has been especially devastating. By some estimates, low-income families spent more than a quarter of their incomes on heating their homes this past winter. The administration already has responded to these increased costs by implementing a set of policies to help low-income families in HUD-assisted housing to meet the increased costs of utilities.

But we're not stopping there. To advance the conservation objectives of the president's energy plan, we're going beyond these emergency measures to support a range of innovative conservation initiatives, which will help to lower energy costs. To improve energy efficiency in public housing, HUD is helping local housing authorities form partnerships with the private sector using a technique known as "energy performance contracting." Under this program, private companies finance and install the energy improvements, then share the savings with the local housing authority.

To encourage new home buyers to install cost-effective conservation measures, the FHA offers "Energy Efficient Mortgages." These allow home buyers to borrow as much as an additional $8,000 to undertake energy-conservation measures. The savings in utility costs more than pay for the increased mortgage payment.

We also are supporting cutting-edge research into energy-saving technologies. For example, we are working with Dow Chemical to develop the application of a new type of insulation, which is just one-quarter of an inch thick, yet provides the insulating power of 6 inches of standard insulation.

Under the president's plan, we will be able to do even more. As the plan notes: "There are significant opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and homes through technologies and better practices." The president's plan directs the Secretary of Energy to establish a "national priority" for improving energy efficiency, and includes several recommendations that are aimed at reducing home-energy use, including a public-awareness campaign directed at homeowners, and an expansion of the successful Energy Star program beyond office buildings to include homes. HUD will work together with the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency to advance these goals.

Energy Star is a simple labeling program that helps consumers and home builders identify energy-efficient products and appliances. There are 31 types of Energy Star-labeled products, including clothes washers and dryers, refrigerators, windows and heating and cooling equipment. The average home may increase its energy efficiency by as much as 30 percent to 40 percent with Energy Star-labeled equipment, appliances and home-improvement packages.

Energy Star is just one of a number of conservation initiatives that will receive a significant boost under the president's plan. The administration will be taking a hard look at the need for energy-efficiency research and development, and also will take steps to improve the energy efficiency of appliances, by setting higher standards where these are technologically feasible and economically justified.

If these and other parts of the plan are adopted by Congress, there can be little doubt who the winners will be: renters and homeowners, in all income groups and in all parts of the country.